Jump Manual Review

Written by Jack Woodrup for VerticalJumping.com

This is my second attempt at reviewing the Jump Manual. The first review I wrote was extremely harsh. This review? Not so much. So why the change of heart? Well after I posted the original review Jacob Hiller wrote to me and wanted to work through some of the criticisms I had. After quite a bit of back and forth with Jacob I now have a better understanding of where the value in the Jump Manual lies. Don’t get me wrong, I still feel there is room for improvement and I won’t be backwards in telling you what they are. However, there are also elements of the program that I now appreciate a little better.

QUALITY OF INFORMATION

The information in the Jump Manual covers the key facets of what is required to improve your vertical jump. it covers the need to do strength work to improve force production as well as plyometrics and jumping be able to access that strength quickly. It also discusses sound principles of nutrition and the key recovery techniques to ensure that you maximize your gains.

There where however a few elements of the training discussed in the Jump Manual that I questioned such as one of the Rules of lifting. It was written as follows:

Rule 1: Always use 85% of your 1RM.

According to the Jump Manual research says using 85% of your 1RM will always recruit every muscle fiber. Whilst I am not convinced this statement is entirely true I actually was more concerned with the practicalities of implementing it. To always lift at 85% would require that you have to perform a 1 rep max attempt for each exercise in the program and use 85% of that load, or use an estimate derived from another method.

The second problem I had with this blanket rule is that the Jump Manual then says that at 85% most lifters will be able to perform between 2-8 reps. This is all well and good but when you get to the actual lifting aspects of the Jump Manual it prescribes set numbers of reps. He suggest reps of 6 for some exercises, sets of 8 for others, and so on. So too bad if at 85% you are only good for 2 reps, the Jump Manual is saying to do 8. The 85% rule therefore is something that is on occasions in conflict with other elements of the program.

In fairness I may be just being picky because as long as you are using challenging loads for the prescribed number of reps you should be fine - whether or not that challenging load is 85% of your 1RM, well that is another matter.

Another element of my first Jump Manual review was my criticism of the exercise Explosion Squats. Explosion squats are basically squats performed explosively. Fair enough, sounds fine. However the Jump Manual's recommended method for performing Explosion Squats is not actually squatting, but is using the incline leg presses. It then goes on to explain in detail how to do Explosion Squats in the leg press machine.

I discussed this with Jacob also and his response was that he was merely trying to suggest his preferred exercise of the leg press as a viable alternative to squatting. The main reason for this is safety related. For many young and inexperienced athletes they do not know how to squat properly and so by using the leg press it is a safer alternative. This however is something that I don't necessarily agree with. The problems I have with this logic are that 1) squats have a much better carry over to improving your vertical jump, and 2) in the long run, training with squats actually helps you prevent injuries by developing the stabilizers around the joints. The leg press which is on rails heavily negates the need for those little muscles around the joints to work hard. This weakens those muscles ultimately making you more susceptible to injury.

Another reason Jacob likes the leg press is that despite its much maligned status as a very poor second cousin to the barbell squat it is actually a very underrated exercise. I don't know if it is underrated, as much as it just isn't as good. My personal preference is to get people squatting because quite frankly it is a MUCH better exercise. With all this in mind the question that rises quickly to mind is – if he likes the leg press so much why doesn’t he just say straight up ‘do the leg press’?

CUSTOMIZATION

There is very little, as in, no customization in the Jump Manual workout itself. Yes the weights prescribed are based on an estimate of 85% of your 1 rep max. This is a start. And yes it suggests you only add weight when you exceed a certain number of reps which is also good advice. However this is the bare minimum level of customization seen in most programs. The actual exercises prescribed have absolutely zero to do with what your strengths and weaknesses already are. If you are already very strong there is no need for you to be leg pressing for 5 sets of 8 including a drop set to failure at the end. So why would you do it? You wouldn’t.

That said the Jump Manual’s Max Explosion workout is much better than the average cookie cutter program. It contains a fortnightly workout plan which you are told to repeat six times adding weight when you can, and despite my concerns about the leg press, it does generally have pretty good exercise choices for increasing your vertical. However like all progams that are essentially just a list of exercises and reps you will adapt to it sooner or later, and they are really only great if by chance your strength and weaknesses happen to be addressed by the program, or if you are an absolute beginner in which case nearly everything works.

PRESENTATION

With technology getting better all the time it is becoming easier to put together a decent looking program. The Jump Manual is no exception. I found it easy to read and follow. The writing was easy to follow and the book itself is structured in a logical manner. Some of the videos however where a little bit unclear which made it fully grasp exactly how Jacob wants you to perform them. However for the most part, the Jump Manual is nicely put together.

VALUE FOR MONEY

When I first bought this program it was $27. The Jump Manual is now $67 plus a recurring fee of $9.95 per month. The program includes a number of non-vertical jump related bonuses as well as access to a jumpers forum. In the posts I read on the Jump Manual forum it was mostly people asking for free copies of the program. The posts seem to be mostly pretty old and not very helpful but it may have picked up since.

Now if this was all you got from the Jump Manual I would say without hesitation – do not buy it. But, like the Vert Freak program it also comes with personalized coaching. The difference between Vert Freak and the Jump Manual however is that after the first 30 days Jacob is currently charging $9.95 per month. From my discussions with Jacob the personalized coaching service is what makes up a big part of the program. So here is where the value for money assessment becomes highly relative.

Despite my conversations about the Jump Manual I had with Jacob I remain unconvinced that as a stand alone program the $67 is particularly good value. Afterall it is essentially $67 for a single program and some well known training information (all of which is available for free on this site). However for the time and effort he is putting in to ensure that you do get results, the $9.95 a month for personalized coaching is actually pretty cheap provided you use it. Although I think the Jump Manual itself is basically a better than average cookie-cutter program, Jacob absolutely does know his stuff, so if you do sign up and you do use his coaching services, you will get good advice. Just make sure you use that advice or you will be wasting your money.

CONCLUSION

After my first, highly critical review of the Jump Manual was posted Jacob contacted me. I have had a number of discussions about the program with him and come to several new conclusions. The first one is that despite some initially bad impressions I got about him I was wrong. Not only do I find that he is not a bad person, but is actually a really genuine, courteous, and helpful person. From my discussions I was definitely left with the impression that he is someone who wants to help athletes maximize their vertical jump to the best of his ability.

That aside, there are still a number of elements about the Jump Manual that I don’t agree with that I have still included here in this version. The biggest issue is that I got from talking with Jacob is that the fundamental value of the jump Manual program lies not so much in the Jump Manual workout in its current form, but in the personalized coaching. So why only have the first 30 days free if the program goes for 12 weeks? In fact why have the Jump Manual at all? Why not just offer personalized coaching?

One final thing, Jacob's program has been ripped off word for word by a competitor. If you are interested in buying the Vertical Jump Explosion program then don't. This is the program that has ripped him off. Do the right thing by Jacob and buy the Jump Manual instead. You can purchase it from the official site: The Jump Manual

COMPARISON TO VERTICAL MASTERY

CATEGORY	Jump Manual
Quality of Information	Good training information but all of it plus a lot more is available for FREE in the Vertical Mastery Jump Training Guide	Outstanding. The FREE Vertical Mastery guide is a MUST read.
Customization	No Customization. Jump Manual is a one size fits all program.	Fully customized programs target your specific needs for maximum results
Presentation	Ebook	Fully Interactive Software Program
Value for Money	$67 is WAY TOO MUCH for a single cookie cutter program! Personal coaching is an extra monthly fee	Vertical Mastery is a bargain. $67 for unlimited custom programs and support.
Overall	Ultimately the Jump Manual is just an expensive one size fits all program.	Vertical Mastery is the Best Program in the market by a clear margin.
Grab your FREE 80+ Page Vertical Mastery Jump Training Guide